It’s out – “Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious,” the third LP from Jeremy Porter and The Tucos. This album features 11 songs of Replacements-y powerpop with elements of Americana and classic Detroit garage rock. The Detroit release show is this Friday 11/17 at PJ’s Lager House, and the Lansing release show is this Saturday 11/18 at The Avenue Cafe – both shows are GTG parties since The Plurals are playing too. Jeremy Porter and The Tucos came onto the GTG scene at a Mystery Garage show in 2015 and since then we’ve been sharing stages (and crowds) with them in various configurations around the Midwest. The Tucos are true road warriors and they’ll continue to bring their infectious and energetic sounds to stages around the US, Canada and beyond. Apologies if you find this album to be contagious after all – it’s out digitally, on CD, and on 180g vinyl manufactured at Third Man Record Pressing in Detroit. Hooray for GTG’s 2017 record series!

Formed in 2009, The Stick Arounds – consisting of members of old-school Lansing powerhouses Calliope, the Pantones, and Gentleman Callers – take you to a sonic neighborhood where garage rock, Byrds-esque pop, Guided By Voices-inspired abandon, and classic rock all happily live together. A mainstay of mid-Michigan dive bars, when the time came to make an album the band decided to eschew conventions and record where they felt most comfortable: in front of a live audience. The project that followed ended up becoming a labor of love for the GTG family as the venue for the live recording was the now-defunct but much beloved GTG-operated DIY/ warehouse venue The Mystery Garage and the recording and mixing engineer was the Hat Madder’s Isaac Vander Schuur. The album, appropriately titled Mystery Garage, captures the essence of the band and documents a place and time, as all great live albums are meant to. Check out the album for 12 songs of tightly crafted rock and roll songs with a chiming, three guitar attack to complement the impressive group vocal efforts – best enjoyed cranked up with the windows down. Order the LP here or stream it on Spotify!